Deliverance From Pain and Sorrow

 

Deliverance From Pain and Sorrow

Exodus 3: ⁷ And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ⁸ So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. ⁹ Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

 

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Speaking in unison, GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON and GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT told Moses that HE has heard the cries of HIS people who are in Egypt. HE then said “I have come down to deliver them.”

 

My Observations:

• All the Hebrews could do is cry out to GOD.
• GOD knew who was doing the oppression, how long they were doing it and when.
• GOD made a promise to Moses that HE would deliver HIS children out of Egypt.

 

Telling Moses that HE heard the cry of the people is one thing, but to tell him, “Okay, here is what I am going to have you do something about it” is another. Moses was not crying out. In fact, he was getting older and was content to spend the rest of his life with his wife Zipporah tending Jethro’s flock.

 

I believe GOD has a time limit on oppression. After the cure HE put on creation and after the flood, GOD allowed free will to take its course. Unfortunately, humans usually do not turn to GOD, rather they seek other humans for wisdom. The Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites, to me, represent various human beliefs that people easily fall into without consulting GOD.

 

Egyptians were oppressing the children of Israel the most. GOD also saw that they would run to other humans that did not have their best interest in mind. Only GOD knew how much HE cared for them and HE decided to send Moses.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS promise HE told him when speaking from the burning bush?
• Are you seeking contentment away from the troubles that other people are facing?
• Are you available to join up with GOD as HE executes HIS plan of bringing HIS people back to HIM?

Future Foretold

Future Foretold

Genesis 15: ⁷ Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

 

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

 

⁹ So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. ¹¹ And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

 

¹² Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

 

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GOD reiterate HIS promise to Abram, telling him that HE was going to give his ancestors the land. Abram asked a wise question ““Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

 

My Observations

• GOD told Abram to bring HIM animals that were considered mature.
• GOD told Abram to bring different species of animals, which means they were symbols rather than food or clothing.
• GOD told Abram about the future of his descendants and his future.

 

This was the first time GOD mentioned sacrificing animals. Abram did not question the strange request, rather obeyed immediately, killed the animals, and waited. GOD carefully chose these animals, possibly to show the laws that would follow during the freeing of the people who would become captives. GOD being three in one, may also have meaning here.

 

Cows would eventually be sacrificed for purity. A scapegoat would be released into the wilderness, representing the release of sins. The dove and pigeons would become sacrifices for the poor. All of these sacrifices would point to the ultimate sacrifice, namely JESUS.

 

When nighttime hit, Abram fell into a deep sleep, possibly a supernatural sleep. He saw disturbing images that needed explanation. GOD explained Abram’s descendant’s future. Noah’s curse on Canaan led Canaan to rebel and create a movement against GOD. Egypt would enslave GOD’s people. GOD would release them and require sacrifices for sin. Abram’s future seemed bleak, BUT GOD gave him assurance.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think GOD went into elaborate detail concerning Abram’s future to Moses?
• If you knew about your present situation, years ago, would you praise GOD or be more faithful?
• Can you remain faithful in the present, knowing GOD has a plan to prosper you?

Tiny Wins

Tiny Wins

Genesis 14: ¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by ^[c]the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

 

¹⁷ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

 

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Weeks after Lot’s capture, someone who had escaped, made it back to Abram. He told Abram everything that happened. Abram gathered a tiny army of three hundred eighteen trained servants, born in his house. Abram may have trained them himself, because he learned the ways of the Chaldeans and picked up ways of the Amorites, where he lived.

 

Abram’s tiny army would probably blend in during the day and sneak into camp at night, killing off the defense, little by little. Soon the rebellious king Chedorlaomer’s army was defeated.

 

My Observations:

• Abram’s army was tiny in comparison to the thousands they face from other armies.
• This encounter is the first of many battles between humans that showed a clear separation between those who followed GOD and those who did not.
• The king of Sodom, still remaining cowardly, met Abram in a valley where Abram’s forces could be seen on all aides.

 

When GOD wiped out humans with the flood because their thoughts were violent and evil, HE saved only a handful of people to propagate the earth. BUT HE knew evil was still among the handful. This evil was from Satan himself. The attitude of developing a replica of the Garden of Eden, showed that humans did not need GOD.

 

Cities, towers and currency ruled instead of bowing down to GOD. Abram and his tiny army may have bowed to GOD and also understood that there were no negotiations with those who would kill first and steal others. GOD allowed humans to take justice into their own hands. Abram retrieved Lot, Sodom’s stuff, the women and the people. He set everyone free from captivity.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think Abram’s tiny army was successful in freeing those who were taken into captivity?
• Have you ever felt small, but were faced with something big?
• Can you have faith that GOD can use your small numbers to show HIS greatness?